According to some reports, Maria Butina worked as an assistant to the deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, Alexander Torshin.

Russian citizen Maria Butina has been detained on suspicion of espionage in a Russian official's behalf who is under sanctions in Washington, US Justice Department reports.

Butina's name had already been mentioned in the media within the investigation of interference in US elections. In particular, the American publications wrote that graduate of the Altai State University's faculty of political science Maria Butina participated in the pre-election events of Donald Trump and turned out to be a good acquaintance of the well-known figure of the Republican Party Paul Erickson.

At various receptions the girl introduced herself as an employee of the Russian Central Bank, then the defender of the gun rights, a "representative of the Russian Federation", a student from Washington, a journalist, and an intermediary between the Trump team and Russia. She used every role to get new high-ranking acquaintances in the US capital, wrote American The Daily Beast.

According to the sources of the newspaper, Butina had a joint business with Paul Erickson, a longtime Republican insider. In addition, she worked as an assistant to the deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, Alexander Torshin, the former member of the Federation Council, the member of the Putin's political party allegedly associated with the Russian underworld.